deceit : the inocent betrayer
by bullchizz155
Summary: Claire left Westchester when she was thirteen years due to the betrayal of the people she thought loved her dearly. she comes back 12 years later with a whole new look and a whole new life. although on a mission to find a murderer who killed her mom and other people, she can't help but get her own bitter- sweet revenge on the people she once called her loving family.
1. prologue

Prologue:

There were a lot of people that used to be in her life, who seemed to take interest in making her feel miserable. Going back in the past to the girl she was, she had come quite far in life. Far enough to the point where she could assure herself that the generations to come after her will swim in riches. Simone Howard, formally known as Claire Lyons was a 25 year old woman with hatred, pain, anguish and the sting of betrayal wallowing inside her heart. Her bad luck that had erupted in Westchester followed her and just like her soul, she couldn't tear it apart.

There were quite a few people she could hold a grudge on for the misfortune that be-fell her. There were always of course the first three gold, silver and bronze medal winners. The gold was effortlessly won by Kendra block, or Lyons as she was referred to when she decided to take Jay Lyons for herself. The silver was a prized possession of Derrick Harrington and the bronze went to Nikki Dalton for her great efforts. The rest also had minor contributions to the great damage of Claire's life, but they weren't things she blamed them for because she would have reacted the same way. But of course there was a certain Massie Block who Claire had expected to believe in her because she was her best friend but said brunette best friend found it hard to because of the fleet of false evidence that made Claire's innocence hardly believable. She could say the same for her ex-boyfriend, Cameron Fisher, whom she loved unconditionally. Although Westchester made her into the bitter girl she hated so much, she had to thank them greatly for the beautiful twins they gave her and the outrageous wealth she inherited.

To go into detail of how Simone ended up becoming a citizen of England, although she was born in the United States, Orlando; Florida, her being the victim of a harsh betrayal will be explained, starting with the silver prized winner; Derrick Harrington.

They were like best friends; Claire and Derrick. Or he was her boy best friend. The one she shared her relationship problems with because he was also her boyfriend's best friend. He always had the tendency to save her relationship at the nick of time but Claire should have seen through the false brotherly love to realize that Derrick was a snake in the grass but it was perfectly masked with that handsome kind face, no one could tell that he was a monster at heart. Anyone could have realized that Derrick Harrington could be a womanizer with his mesmerizing puppy dog eyes and dirty blonde hair but it was one of the things he hid perfectly. He was always the perfect boyfriend that Massie Block was lucky to have.

Claire had the privilege or was she rather unfortunate to discover the real Derrick Harrington. The one who drunk in the comfort of his home and lost his precious virginity at the age of thirteen when his sister introduced him to her sixteen year old messed up world of sex and alcohol. When Derrick took out the bottle of vodka from beneath his bed, Claire had let her mouth drop in shock.

"You drink?" she had asked, seeing Derrick in a new light. She had hoped he would tell her that his sister had probably left it there when they had had one of their weekly movie nights but, he smiled and took a swig. "Does Massie know?" she asked.

"No, and you can't tell anyone. I know I can trust you, that's the reason why I'm doing it in front of you. I wouldn't have but I was craving it. Promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"Derrick, how long have you been drinking?" she had asked him.

"A year"

"You have to stop before it becomes an addiction."

"I can't. I like the way it makes me feel. I don't think about my mom's death or my dad's insistency that I push up my grades… it just makes me forget."

"I can see it also makes you forget that your _liver_ is at stake. Sammie introduced you to t didn't she? Derrick, she is only destroying you."

"Hey, this is my sister we are talking about here and drinking is actually fun. I like it."

"Fun, is that the only thing you are hiding? What have you lost your virginity too? Tell me because this isn't good. You are keeping something this serious away from Cam and Massie. I care about them way too much to keep this away from them and I care about you too, Derrick. You can stop it before it becomes too late."

"If you care about me as much as you say you do, you won't tell anyone. So promise me that you won't."

"Fine, I won't."

Claire sat beside him on his bed trying very hard to watch the television, as he drunk himself into a stupor. It was about one in the morning, when Claire decided to retire to the guest room in the Harrington household. She had spent so many nights over there; she referred to it as her fourth home, next to Cam's and Massie's.

"No," derrick had protested, pulling her down beside him again. "Sleep here tonight."

"No, thank you, but you stink badly. I will see you tomorrow morning. We have school tomorrow. I'm not even supposed to be here when we have school…"she stopped when she felt Derrick's hand up her thighs. "What are you doing?" she shrieked pushing his hand away.

"I do this every night. It helps me sleep just like a baby needs a lullaby and a toddler needs bedtime stories." He slurred.

Claire was so shocked, she hadn't realized when his hand zipped down her dress and released her hair from its bun. "Derrick, don't." she whispered prying herself away from his hands but he held her tightly, shoving his head into her neck. She struggled to pull him away but, he was stronger. She screamed for help but no one heard. Sammie was at her boyfriend's house, Mr. Harrington was out of the country, and the maids had retired to their homes. The security couldn't possibly hear her with the long distance that separated the mansion from the gates. The sad thing was that Claire had started her period when she was 11 and was likely to be a thirteen year old mother. Of course he didn't remember anything and she had to tell him the day after when he asked her why he was naked the next morning. He only remembered that she was at his house that night and she wasn't the next morning. With that, their friendship ended.

The golden winner's act of betrayal was interesting. Kendra's husband, William Block had died mysteriously a year before and rumor had it that she had already found a prince charming two months after her husband died but, Claire suspected that it was before her husband died. She just didn't have a clue who Kendra was committing adultery with. Well, not until one afternoon when she got back home from school to see her best friend's mother sitting on her father's lap. To top it off, they were in an intense lip lock.

"Oh my goodness!" she couldn't help but utter.

Kendra jumped of his lap and pulled her skirt down. She buttoned the top button of her shirt and smoothed out her black hair. Jay Lyons, Claire's dad tried to explain himself but, Claire help up her hand shutting him up. Under normal circumstances, Claire would have cried but, she didn't because she had made a promise to herself the night that Derrick took advantage of her that she was never ever going to shed tears. During dinner that night, Claire had the sudden urge to stab her dad with her fork as he pretended to love her mom so much. If she hadn't shot out of her seat and run to her room, she probably would have.

Her father had the nerve to visit her in her room that night and ask her to promise not to tell her mom about it.

"I seem to be doing a lot of that these days." She said. "Dad I can't let you do this. You can't destroy the family."  
"I love Kendra."

"Then tell mom. You are cheating on her with her best friend. My best friend's mom… Dad, how could you stoop so low?"

"You don't choose who to love, bear"

"I know that too well, but when it involves other people you just have to give up until you find another way to make it work, a way that doesn't involve hurting other people in the process."

"Please just promise me"

Claire stood still staring at her dad for a long time before she nodded. "I promise"

The bronze winner got her prized medal of hatred when she helped Derrick frame her. Before the framing though, Nikki had tried to steal her boyfriend away from her. The only problem was that Cam loved Claire so much that he was always faithful to her. She always believed that she and Cam were going to get married and have the most beautiful children, until she got pregnant when Derrick took advantage of her. Even then, she still had hope for the future. But, just like everything else, it faded away when she was told over dinner with the Fisher's and the Dalton's, (Nikki's family) that Nikki and Cam were practically engaged to be married. It was supposed to be a business deal marriage but the pain was still too much to bear.

In her time of pregnancy, when her mom was supposed to be her rock, she left to stay with her new fiancé leaving Claire with Jay, who settled with Kendra later. Judy Lyons didn't even fight for the custody of Claire during the divorce. Of course when she died a few weeks after from an accident, Claire was devastated and went to the hospital to see her. Judy said she had something important to tell Claire about her father but, before she could say anything, she passed on.

It was one day when she went to school, that she learnt that news about her pregnancy had gotten out but, she had only told two people; Layne and Derrick.

Layne couldn't have possibly exposed her, which left her with Derrick Harrington, who stood with Massie Block, the rest of the Pretty Committee and Nikki Dalton with a triumphant smirk gracing his features. Of course he had done it. He had threatened her that he would, if she didn't abort the baby. She had to leave school immediately and go home.

That night it was all over the news; 'Dial L for Loser star, Claire Lyons knocked up and Pregnant?'(She had acted that movie once when she was suspended from school for breaking school rules). There were nude pictures of her and other guys as evidence and she knew for a fact that they were photo shopped. The shock on her dad's face was making her nervous and the scowl on Massie's face made her want to piss. Kendra had an expressionless façade and the maid was sobbing lightly.

"You tried to frame my boyfriend when he found out. You told him that you would accuse him of being the father if he spoke about it. The truth was that you've always been a porn star. It's a good thing I kicked you out of the pretty committee. I should have suspected when you started wearing so many loose and long blouses and tights."

"If Derrick told you that, then he is a liar" Claire said, pulling her hair.

"Jay, there is only one way we can fix this; you need to throw her out" Kendra said in her commanding pompous voice.

"What! No, you can't do that. This is my house…"

"Correction, this is my house and I agree. You should be out of here in an hour. You've already brought enough disgrace to the family."

"But, it's raining" Claire protested.

"And I'm growing out of patience"

Without another word, Claire stomped to her room and with intense anger, packed her things and run to Layne's house to say good bye, only to see her with her own bags, sneaking out the window. "I've suffered enough abuse from my step mom" she had explained.

Together, they left town to a whole new life, but not before the made a few stops.

Layne had always been her loyal best friend.

**Hope you like it. Review…**


	2. chapter one

**Chapter One:**

"You are welcome Ms. Simone" the female computerized scanner greeted her as she made her way into the agency. She plastered a fake smile on her face and waved at all her colleagues, stopping to have a short conversation with a few of them. When she got to her office, she dropped the smile and rolled her eyes. These people always made her jaw ache from so much smiling. Paula Howard, her adopted mother had taught her to always smile when she met people. Especially to the people working in the CIA, since they were the only people that were ever going to be her family, or so Paula said. Simone walked over to her desk and sighed.

She so wasn't ready for the task at hand. There was a murderer in Westchester; had been for fourteen years and Simone had the privilege of working on that case. She had to travel all the way from London to the United States just to look for that murderer. She would have declined the job, but she learnt that the murderer killed her mom and also there was no better way to get revenge on the people who destroyed her life. They had absolutely no idea who she was and it was going to make everything so much easier. The only problem was that she had to keep her children secured in the house if they ever joined her in the U.S because they looked a lot like Derrick, especially Travis. He was like a carbon copy of his father. Venus looked more like Simone but she had Derrick's eyes and auburn hair which Simone assumed was Derrick's family. She didn't want anyone to recognize them; it was only going to bow her cover.

A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought. "Come in"

Mr. Crooke, a tall man with white hair and a crooked nose and eyes, walked into Simone's office, holding a blue file and a white pen drive. Even with his crooked features and in his old age, he still looked attractive. "Simone how was your flight?" he asked cheerfully.

"Same as always; comforting, I can't complain." She smiled as she stood up to shake his hand. "I just don't feel comfortable leaving my children with my sister. As much as I love her, she's a tad bit too clumsy to take care of those troublesome lads. And I need my little baby here with me"

Gretchen was Simone's said sister, who was formally known as Layne, before she left town with Claire. Anne- Marie was Simone's little baby. She was an eight month old half cast baby (British and Togolese) who Simone had adopted when her parents died in an accident and none of her family members wanted to take her in. Simone was her parents' lawyer. She had majored in law before Paula Howard had introduced her to the world of the Central Intelligence Agency.

When Paula Howard had first met the girls when they were eighteen, her heart had swelled with pity for them. Just like everyone else who was around them, they wore tattered and torn clothes and looked so pale and hungry. But, she watched, stuck in traffic, as the two girls sacrificed their food for the three year old twins, unlike the other parents around who left the children to fend for themselves; she realized that she had to help them. She had made the chauffeur of the cab stop the car, although she was late for her meeting and she took the girls out of their miserable life to a life of riches and nothing but the best of everything. She took them to England where she really stayed and she made them her own, giving them her name and her love. She had listened to their life story and her heart went out to them, since she had suffered Claire's fate; only that her child died during birth. When she died it was a devastating moment for the girls and the twins.

Simone smiled when Mr. Crooke handed the file and the pen drive over to her. "Thank you Mr. Crooke. I'd do my best to find the murderer for you."

"I know you would. Massie Block, Derrick Harrington and Cameron Fisher all work in the BHF Firm. You should probably get employed there and be- friend them. It would make everything easier for you. I heard they were looking for a new personal assistant."

"A personal assistant to three people, wow"

Mr. Crooke chuckled and walked towards the door. "You can do it. I trust you"

"Thanks" she smiled.

"About your family, they can join you. Just tell me when you want them here and their flight payment will be taken care off."

"Can they come in the private jet instead?" Simone asked. "My reason is private. I'd be very grateful."

"Of course" He smiled and walked away.

That was the benefit of working with the CIA; they took care of things like that and also paid a huge sum of money as salary, all to fight crime.

Of all the people that Simone competed with for the job at the BHF firm, she was the one who got the job, and in less than 24 hours. It wasn't a surprise to her that she got it though, since she owned her own flourishing firm. She did brilliant and she knew the job was hers right after the interview was over.

The anger that boiled in her was threatening to over- flow when she had entered the conference room. It had only so because Derrick was in the room but, she had compressed it and went with the flow, even when she had looked at Cam who had grown more handsome over the years. She had never gotten over him, and she could tell by the wedding band on his finger that he was married; to Nikki Dalton, no doubt.

She walked out of the BHF Firm with a new job, an aim to discover her murderer, an aim to get revenge on Kendra, Derrick and Nikki, and also, an aim to forget about Cam…

If only she knew how difficult the last task was going to be.

**Another chapter for you, review…**


	3. Chapter two

Thank you so much for the review Tyrells.

Chapter Two:

Taking the twins to school was a long shot but she had to give them an education so she decided to take them to Manhattan, where she had made sure that none of the people she knew worked. They had arrived in Westchester during the weekend with Anne- Marie, but without Gretchen, since she had a lot of work to take care of at the Howard Hospital.

"I mean it guys, no mischief" Simone warned the twins as she dropped them off at the Manhattan Middle School. At 12 years, the twins were very stubborn and extremely hyperactive. It was by the grace of God that Simone was able to handle them. When they stayed in London, Simone always had to brace herself for a call at exactly twelve, midday, when their principal called to inform her that her children had yet again caused trouble and they were suspended thrice from their schools and had to transfer to other schools. "If I get a call from the principal, I will ground you guys until the day of rapture. I can't drive from Westchester to Manhattan because of your silly behavior."

"You should have sent us to Briarwood. It would have been easier on you"

"Like I said before, no"

"But they have an amazing soccer program" Venus complained. Just like Derrick, her interest was in soccer, but Travis' interest was in photography, like his mother.

"Whatever," Simone said. "If you go against any rule just because you want to go to Briarwood and you end up being suspended, mark my words, you will end up being home schooled"

"You wouldn't!" Venus gasped.

"Try me, Nessie" Simone smirked. "Now let's go and see the principal" She got out of the car and strutted into the building with Anne- Marie in her arms and the twins behind her.

**. . . . .**

Simone rubbed her throbbing left temple as she walked to the conference room to meet Cam and Massie. It was only her first day and she was exhausted from all the work she had to do. The black platinum heels which she had paired with a red Gucci dress and a black blazer were making her ankles throb with pain. The firm had walls instead of glass, unlike most of the buildings around, but Simone was pretty sure she heard Derrick's voice in the room on her right. The fact that his conversation might have been private didn't stop her from eaves- dropping.

"… You lied to me, Panda" she heard Derrick's muffled voice in the room. The door was slightly open and she moved closer.

"I didn't want you to think that I was that evil" the female voice belonging to Panda cracked. She was a short lady with purple dyed hair and a striking figure.

"Look," Derrick started, pulling Panda closer to him for a hug. Simone took out her phone to take pictures. "I'm trying all I can to help you. If you do not tell me everything, we could lose this case and I love you too much to watch you go to prison." Derrick leaned down to give Panda a kiss and Simone snapped away. She tiptoed away smiling for her triumph and also for how naïve Panda was being. She couldn't possibly think that Derrick loved her. His heart was for Massie. She could see it in the way he looked at her when all three of them were working on a case that morning.

Derrick was cheating on Massie because it was his nature. Or was it that Massie believed in sex after marriage? Simone remembered when she was little that Massie vowed never to have sex before marriage because it was a proud Block tradition. Panda was just a bed buddy to Derrick and Simone knew it. Derrick was cheating on Massie and Simone had proof. If Derrick wanted to stay with the love of his life and join their fortune together as one, he had to succumb to Simone.

Simone smirked proudly as she made a left turn to the conference room. She glanced at her Gucci watch and counted down from five and at exactly twelve on the dot, her phone buzzed in her palm.

**. . . . .**

It was after work when Simone decided to go pick up the twins and Anne- Marie, from the daycare center. She had told the principal to give them any work she saw fit, when the twins took their rat to school and sent it to the principal's office. The principal was allergic to rodents. She stood in front of them and shot them both a glare. How did she end up with a quiet but troublesome son for a child and a carefree tomboy for a daughter? The only thing that gave Venus away as a girl was her interest in fashion and her light girly voice. The twins looked at her with innocent eyes and her glare deepened.

"Drop the act" Simone said in a strict voice.

The twins sighed and looked at their mother irritated.

"Why do you always do this?" Simone asked. "You promised me before I left the school that you would be at your very best. "What happened?"

"She looked irritating" Travis said. "And we had no idea she was allergic to rodents"

"You don't expect to know all about a person when you look at their face do you?" she didn't wait for them to answer before she stretched out her hand. "Phones" she demanded.

"But, mom…" the twins started in unison.

"I want your laptops and ipads on my table too by the time I come out of Anne's nursery." She concluded as she picked up Anne from the sofa where she sat, staring blankly at the three people, and climbed the white tilled stairs with the gold railing.

**. . . . .**

The next day was a busy day with Cam; sorting out divorce papers, dealing with an emotionally distressed spouse and one that had a heart of stone, dealing with families that had inheritance issues… Simone thought she would get a migraine. The only thing that could make her day a worse one was seeing Derrick's wickedly handsome but irritating face or a call from the principal about the twins again. She hoped they had learnt their lesson and wouldn't disappoint her. They were lucky enough that they were allowed back into the school and it was only because the previous day was their first day.

Simone couldn't help but steal some glances at Cam as he typed away on his computer with a serious look gracing his features. If only he knew how hot he looked with that expression. Simone chided herself inwardly and felt her face growing hot. She swallowed hard and willed to concentrate more on her work. She allowed the silence to consume her as she pushed thoughts of the man sitting before her out of her mind. His phone rung immediately and Simone looked on the desk quickly, to see 'Nikki' flashed across the screen. She felt her mouth go dry and her head began to ache.

"Excuse me" Cam said as he pressed the answer button and walked out of the office. She had a flash back to the night when she left town…

_In the pouring rain, Claire walked to Cam's house with Layne. She wanted to make sure that he still trusted her and he didn't think that she was a harlot. It was relevant to her heart. She had broken up with him when she was told about his future marriage with Nikki because she couldn't take the humiliation, but she still loved Cam._

_She was about to knock on the door, when she saw him perched at the top of the tree house, looking absent mindedly into the sky. She went over to it and climbed up the ladder in her three month pregnancy. _

"_Cam…" she called when she got to him._

_He turned towards her and stood up from the wooden floor, shocked to see her there. _

"_You don't believe any of it, do you…" she asked. "It's all lies. I'm not that kind of person, you know I wanted to save myself until marriage"_

"_Claire there is no other explanation for this. There are pictures and you are really pregnant. That is why you keep wearing all the buggy clothes. How long did you think you were going to hide it?"_

_He was hurt, Claire could see it; in his eyes, in his stance… She wanted to re- assure him but, she didn't know how. She had no evidence of the truth. He had to trust her. "Derrick did this to me". She whispered. "He was drunk and I can tell you that he is no more a virgin"_

"_Derrick doesn't drink, Claire and he is not like that. Don't you think you've told that lie too many times today?"_

"_So you believe him but not me?"_

"_I can't believe you" He said, and turned away._

_A tear slipped down her cheek, but she wiped it away before any more could fall. She whispered a faint good bye and walked back out into the pouring rain with Layne._

Simone came back to reality when the door clicked close. Cam sat in his seat and gave her a slight irritated smile. She returned it with an absent minded one of hers. She remembered Gretchen telling her about how she heard Nikki and Derrick talking about the fake pictures of her that Nikki photo shopped and a new vengeful fire filled her. Nikki was going to watch as Simone snatched Cam away from her. She just had to wait and see.


End file.
